The Path to Redemption
by Tallictr
Summary: His entire life Harry Potter has been overlooked in favor of his brother Henry 'Hank' Potter the 'Boy-Who-Lived'. When Harry finally dies years after the fall of the Wizarding World at the hands of Lord Voldemort he gets sent through time to relive his life. Now armed with knowledge of the future he'll re-shape the world into his image and succeed where he had hopelessly failed.
1. Chapter 1

**_I Do Not Own Harry Potter. I would like to, but I don't. So this Fanfiction will do for now._**

 **Chapter 1: The Boy-Who-Lived and The-Boy-Who-Returned**

On the night of October 31st, 1981, a most dreadful event took place. This incident would be one of the many tragedies taking place in the life of one Harridan James Potter. Harridan, Harry to those closest to him, was only a baby when Lord Voldemort, fearful of a prophecy depicting his downfall, came for him and his twin brother Henry 'Hank' Fleamont Potter.

It just so happened that James and Lily Potter (nee Evans) were called away to an Order meeting by Albus Dumbledore to discuss a possible attack on Hogsmeade in the near future.

While this meeting took place Voldemort chose to attack the Potter residence to kill the two brothers and ensure his own survival. Arabella Figg, whom Lily had asked to watch Harry and Henry, was quickly dispatched by the Killing Curse.

Minutes after the wards had been breached, and Figg's immediate death, the entirety of the Order had apparated to the house. What they found fell Lily to her knees and saw James running into the house and up the stairs yelling for his children.

The door was broken in and a dead woman lay peacefully on the floor. There was smoke coming from the upstairs and from the outside of the house one could see a portion of the roof had been blown away.

James reached the top of the stairs and to the boys' room to see a discarded cloak on the floor and his children sitting in their crib. His relief was immense and could only thank the heavens that his sons were still alive.

While Hank was shaking, terrified of what had just transpired, Harry sat where he was as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. If James noticed it he didn't let it show in any other way but relief. That is until he remembered the prophecy Dumbledore had told them of.

This thought crosses his mind as Albus and Lily walk through the door and see what remains of the Dark Lord. James takes this moment to ask about the prophecy while Lily rushes over to hug her babies.

"Albus, what does this mean? What about the prophecy?" Albus remained silent as he walked to the two boys and looked them over. He seemingly found what he was looking for as he finished with Hank. "It would seem thank young Hank here is the child of prophecy. Although both children are marked, Hank's is more distinctive. It seems he protected his brother from whatever spell was used. I assume it was the Killing Curse."

Lily paled as she picked up Hank and held him like one would hold a lifeline. However it was in this moment that Harry, who had actually been the one to survive Voldemort, was unconsciously placed at a lower value in their hearts. From that moment on he would never truly be worth as much to his parents as Hank was. In fact, the Potters almost left him behind had it not been for Albus reminding them that their other son was still in the crib. Unfortunately Albus chalked this slip up as nothing more than nerves from the night they had had and the days to come following it.

The next few years of Harry's life were by no means a smooth ride. Harry was always forgotten in the shadow of his brother. Birthdays, Christmas, vacations, family gatherings, Galas were all about Hank.

But never once did Harry complain. Not after the first time. Hank had thrown a vase down a flight of stairs and Harry happened to be nearby. They had assumed Harry to be the culprit because in their minds it was impossible for Hank to do wrong. He was their perfect angel while Harry was merely the other brother. Anyone who says otherwise goes to bed hungry.

Harry, unbeknownst to either of his parents or his brother, was unusually intelligent. At the age of three he could speak full sentences and have conversations with most adults. He was able to discover that his mother would soon give birth to a baby. He was excited at the prospect of having a possible connection with his new sibling. At age six he became proficient in wandless magic due to the lack of a wand, no parental supervision, and an abundance of books and a desire to learn. At the age of nine he had learned what most fith year students knew.

It was around this time that he was told that he would need to start making sacrifices for the good of his family. Harry, while keeping his thoughts to himself, was disappointed to find out that he would no longer receive presents for Christmas. He consoled himself with the fact that he was not the only one to have to suffer such conditions and that his family would at least suffer that Christmas together. How wrong he was.

Not only was he the only one to sacrifice his Christmas gifts, they gave what was supposed to be his to his brother as a way of making up for the lack of things he wanted. How enraged he became that they did this to him. Did they not love him? Wasn't he their son as well? Would they only take and take from him until he had nothing left to give?

He found out a short while later on that there was indeed a shortage of money. Apparently his father had gambled away their fortune. Had it not been for the intervention of House Black the House of Potter would have ended up knutless.

As a result of their poverty James had to take more hours to pay for their needs while Lily couldn't even work at all. She had to take care of Harry's little sister. He, while unable to stand the rest of his family, had high hopes for his sister. He hoped she would relate to him more rather than them.

His growing dislike of his family had allowed him more time to read and learn, to grow in both strength and mind. By the age of eleven Harry had enough of an education to graduate Hogwarts before he even started. He was proud. Proud that he had gotten here all on his own. But that was all he had. His own pride. No one else's.

As he knew it would most likely happen, deep down in his poor lonely little heart, his sister did not like him. In her eight years of life, her head was filled with lies from Hank that Harry was evil; that she needed to be careful around him because he was not worth her time. His parents however had filled her head with stories of her 'amazing' brother Hank and how she should always be there for him. And so his sister, Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Euphemia Potter had put Hank on a pedestal that would never be high enough.

The loss of what could have been between him and his sister had nearly broken Harry. He had been on the brink of giving up for a long time, but this might just be the straw that broke the Nundu's back. However, a tiny light had made its way onto his dark and desolate life. On a quiet Tuesday afternoon a letter addressed to Harry had come via Owl.

Hogwarts! His would be home away from home. At least, that's what he thought at first. But upon realizing the reality of the situation he went pale. Hogwarts requires students to pay tuition. Tuition required money and money was something he did not have. He knew his parents would choose to send Hank over Harry to Hogwarts if they could only send one.

But Harry was not one to give up so easily. Rather than sit and wait for his doom he sent a reply letter to this Professor McGonagall.

In the letter he, in no uncertain terms, requested the school to loan him the tuition fees. He would pay every knut back to them as long as they put their faith in the fact that he would. To his enormous shock he received an invitation to meet with her to discuss such a loan. He agreed.

On September 1st Harry was on the Hogwarts express with hand-me-down clothes, a secondhand wand and almost no new books. The ones he had with him were the ones Lily and James, he stopped considering and calling them his parents long ago, used when they went to Hogwarts. Most had doodles in them and the rest were out of date. What a great way to start his school life.

This next seven years of his life went by faster than he would have liked. His brother had gotten into many misadventures that usually landed him at the center of attention or in the hospital. Usually both. His sister grew further and further apart from him until she completely forgot she even had a second brother.

Oddly enough, that didn't stop Harry from keeping a close eye on her. He would never admit this, not that he had any friends or family to admit it to, but he still loved his little sister. If he didn't included the reverence she held for his ridiculous older brother or the fact she barely remembered Harry even existed at all, he was proud to be her brother.

Harry often thought how if someone were to know they would think him crazy, but he was nonetheless proud of the fact that she was both smart and powerful. His years at Hogwarts weren't as bad as they could've been but they could have been _so_ much better.

It was during his seventh year that things really took a turn for the worst. Out of nowhere his world had started to crumble down around him. The second war was reaching its peak and Harry had a feeling it would only end in tragedy. Voldemort had come back stronger than ever and swiftly took control of Magical Great Britain. Hogwarts had been breached, his 'family' killed off, and all because of one man. Himself.

You see, hindsight is 20/20 and when Harry looked back at his life he saw at least nine different ways he could possibly have prevented the rise of the Dark Lord. First year with the philosopher's stone. He could have written to Nicolas Flamel or even stolen it for himself. Second year he could have convinced the Basilisk _not_ to kill any Mudbloods or Muggleborns, personally he doesn't really care as long as it's not directed at him. Even then it's not so much the word than its intended effect. Belittlement. Also he could have made a connection with Ginny Weasley. He kind of blew it by ignoring her interests. (A/N The fool. He could've been in redheaded heaven)

Third year was actually kind of peaceful. He spent most of it with Hagrid the groundskeeper. Nice guy. But just tad bit emotional in Harry's opinion. The only thing he regrets is not being able to help Hagrid keep Buckbeak. They rescued him sure, but such a majestic creature should never even need to run in the first place. That's another thing about Harry. He's very equalistic when it comes to living things.

The Tri-Wizard tournament in fourth year was such a bloody sham. They made two underage competitors compete and then they were the only two left alive. And believe it when Harry says he tried to save Cedric, Viktor, and Fleur. Hank could go die for all Harry cared but the other three became the only real friends he had had up to that point. It was devastating to Harry that he failed his only friends.

The next three years after that could be summed up with Umbridge being and Umbitch, Dumbledore, dying much to Harry's sadness because the old man was like a grandfather to him, and Voldemort's return. Although that last one lasted about eight or nine years after seventh year. That actually leads us right to where Harry is right now. Dead. Or rather, almost dead. A sort of middle ground if you'd prefer.

He had never seen such a beautiful place. And so simple too. He reflected back on what he heard a muggle say to him once that perfectly describes what he was living 'Sometimes the only way to truly explain something is to have them experience it for themselves' Of course the muggle was drunk; but then again so was Harry at the time.

A voice suddenly boomed from everywhere at once

"DO YOU WISH TO REKINDLE WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN?"

"I-" the voice cut him off.

"WILL YOU DO WHAT YOU MUST TO PROMOTE THAT WHICH HAS BEEN DENIED?"

"I don't understand! What do you-" again the voice spoke.

"YOU ARE CHARGED WITH THE TASK OF RESTORATION! LEAD THOSE WHO MUST BE LEAD DOWN THE PATH OF SALVATION! DOWN THE PATH LESS TRAVELLED. DOWN THE PATH TO REDEMTION!" The voice grew louder and louder shaking the ground beneath him.

"I…I don't…..what the hell…." The scene around him begins to crumble and suddenly he falls. He falls and he falls and he falls until BAM! Nothingness.

 **Scene Break**

Frank and Alice Longbottom, seeing how at risk the Potters became, decided to move their own family elsewhere until the death of Voldemort allowed for some peace to return. In the end it was a smart decision as they found later that their home was all but burned to the ground. They would spend the next few years rebuilding their manor to its peak once more.

Peter Pettigrew was soon hunted down and arrested by Alastor Moody Sirius Black, James Potter, and Remus Lupin. He was sent to Azkaban to spend the remainder of his life there. Unfortunately he broke out a week later as him being an unregistered animagus allowed him the opportunity to escape that forsaken prison.

Sirius Black wizened up after the attack on his friends and quit the auror force to take up the mantle of Lord Black. His grandfather Arcturus was very pleased at his grandson's choice and the two spent the next decade building up the House of Black from its state of ruin.

Andromeda Tonks and her husband Ted gave birth to their daughter Nymphadora three weeks after the Harry and Hank are born. She will go to Hogwarts at the same time they do. Andromeda and her family are invited back into the Black House by Sirius after the death of his grandfather around that time but refuse. They refuse because ten years is too little too late to offer them something he should have years ago.

Amelia Bones and Remus Lupin begin an 'on' again 'off' again relationship that leads into nothing more as a result of his Lycanthropy and the intolerance of the British Wizarding world. They may not be married but love each other as if they were.

Fudge takes advantage of the newly created peacetime that Voldemort's death has produced and stays on as Minister for Magic. He spends the next ten years slowly corrupting the Ministry with his toady Dolores Umbridge. With Fudge being in Lucius Malfoy's pocket, many Death Eaters escape being Kissed and end up in a recently made Dementor free Azkaban.

Severus Snape gets over Lily Evans, he refuses to acknowledge her otherwise, and at the behest of his mother Eileen Prince seeks a relationship. In the summer of 1987 he marries his longtime girlfriend Kristina Knox and they live happily as Mr. and Mrs. Severus and Kristina Prince. They use Prince instead of Snape because Tobias should have no influence in his new happy life. He and his bride stay at Hogwarts to shield themselves from possible Death Eater revenge. Severus has an attitude change. Pleasant.

Lily Potter takes a job as a professor teaching Charms alongside Filius Flitwick at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. James changes over the years. He makes several alliances with neutral houses that will ensure the balance of power in the Wizengamot remains exactly that. Balanced. They give birth to a daughter. She will be at Hogwarts during Harry's third year.

Minerva McGonagall remains exactly the same. A diehard Gryffindor Quiditch fan and a stern but overall lovely woman. (A/N She just rocks! One of my favorite characters.)

 _(A/N These paragraphs above are a general overview of what the other characters are up to since I will be focusing my efforts on the story being from Harry's point of view. A little background info on characters never hurts anybody)_


	2. Chapter 2

**_I Do Not Own Harry Potter. I would like to, but I don't. So this Fanfiction will do for now._**

 **Chapter 2: Preparations**

Harry woke up in the last place he expected himself to be. His old bedroom at Godric's Hollow. And it was just as terrible as he remembered it to be. Small, cold, and not exactly the cleanest place he'd slept in.

He was considering his next move when he realized at this point in time he was about three years old. 'This is around the time I started getting neglected and left alone by Lily and James.' He thought of an idea that may work for him that regard.

It had taken him several psychiatrists, a couple near death experiences, and about four pleasantly violent relationships to realize he was partly to blame for his rough childhood. For whatever stupid reason the child version of himself thought of, he let himself get ignored.

Granted that Lily and James never really paid as much attention to him as they could and should have, ultimately it was him not trying to get their attention that actually sealed the very complicated deal.

'Whew. I actually feel better after that realization. I'll need to thank the women of my past life for that.' That's when it really hit him. 'I'm in the past. I can do anything with the knowledge I have. No one could stop me if tried hard enough.' This thought left him partly relieved but also slightly lonesome.

'No. I'll make things different…I know. I'll create a confidante out of someone I know. They'll be the one to keep me on track. I don't know who it'll be, but I should probably take my time with my choice.' Silently he apparated to an alley right across from Gringotts bank: the first phase of his plan.

Casting a heavy duty Notice-Me-Not charm on himself he walked into the bank. Harry was surprised to see the bank so empty. Usually wizards and witches were here constantly to deal with their financials.

As he walked through the bank and to a nearby teller he recognized as Griphook, he noticed that several security Goblins and even some of the tellers themselves watched him as if seeing through the charm; they probably saw through the charm.

Discreetly the guards began to follow the invisible Harry who, to their surprise, stopped at the teller's desk and cancelled the charm. The looks on their faces were, in Harry's opinion, priceless.

In all fairness, anyone would be thrown off guard at the fact that a small child managed to even make it partway through Gringotts unnoticed. But the Goblins were conflicted with themselves. On the one hand their culture had always made it clear that children were to be protected and cherished as they were the future of the world. But on the other hand they had duties that required those who tried to sneak into Gringotts be punished.

Conflicted on what to do they decided to keep wary eyes on the little boy. Griphook on the other hand had only just noticed the child standing in front of him. He had the same thoughts as the guards until he saw the boy's eyes. The eyes that could never belong to an innocent child.

"What may Gringotts do for you today Mr….?"

 _"_ _Greetings Griphook. I seek an audience with Director Ragnok. My name is Harridan James Potter and I have come with a proposition. You may call me Harry or Mr. Potter. Whichever you prefer."_

Griphook could not believe what he was hearing. How could a wizard know how to speak gobbledygook?

 _"_ _Well Mr. Potter, what would this proposition be? And how exactly do you know our tongue?"_

Switching back to English he says "Go inform Ragnok that should he not listen to my words we would both stand to lose tremendous amounts of money. As the heir to the Potter name I would rather stop the problem now before it hurts us all."

Griphook was a smart Goblin who knew when to keep his head down and when to put himself in the spotlight. This was one of those moments where informing Ragnok of this boy might end with his head being taken off or with a major promotion.

He made his choice. "Wait here Mr. Potter, I shall inform him of your request." He jumped off the chair behind the teller's desk and scurried to Ragnok's office.

Several minutes later Harry found himself sitting in Ragnok's office waiting for him to speak.

"What is this proposition you have for me Mr. Potter? You have shocked us with your ability to speak our tongue. Not to mention that at this age you should not act the way you do nor should you be able to speak your own language as well as you do ours."

To his words Harry just laughed. He just couldn't help it. 'Goblins and their desire to know. Hehehe.' "Director Ragnok, I assume you've read through my family's records before meeting with me. So I will just say this. My father will soon put us both in a position where we lose substantial amounts of money. His gambling will soon bleed us dry with nothing more than the clothes on our backs. It is my intention to prevent this from happening."

At the news of not only losing gold but being blind to it happening under his nose Ragnok was less than pleased. But he held in his anger rather than risking this possible solution walking out the door. Because even if children are to be treasured, they can be temperamental things.

"It is rather unfortunate that this issue has been allowed to go on. I apologize for Gringotts errors." Usually witches and wizards of Pureblood standing see fit to blame Gringotts for personal errors. Apologizing like so pacifies any problems that may occur between either parties. But again, Ragnok was surprised by Harry.

"Please Director Ragnok it is not the bank's fault that my father has gambled away most of our savings." Ragnok's eyes slightly widened 'Eugh. Saying 'father' just doesn't feel right' "Suffice to say it is up to me to fix what he has nearly put to ruin. So here." Harry takes a piece of paper out of his pocket and slides it across the office desk.

 **Scene Break**

Harry left the bank with a feeling of accomplishment. As he walked down Knockturn Alley he figures he has about a month before his father finds out what he has done. 'That leaves me with a month to get my family to recognize that I exist beyond the realm of my brother's shadow.'

He turned down an empty alleyway and apparated to his room in Godric's Hollow. As soon as he appeared in his room he called out to the family elves. "Hokey." A soft pop echoed through the small room. "Yes young master Harry?"

Looking at Hokey brought a smile to Harry's face. He had a soft spot for house elves because of all the magical creatures he had met the house elves were the ones who appreciated the small things. And whether it's because of the terrible treatment they're used to or because they're just naturally like that Harry liked them all the same.

"How are you today Hokey?" Small talk was all he really wanted right now. It had been such a long time since he's seen her. "Hokey be doing well this morning young master Harry! How is you doing?"

"Better than I have in a long time as a matter of fact. Tell me Hokey. Are you loyal to the House of Potter or to my parents?" The smile on Hokey's face faltered ever so slightly. It was a dangerous territory Harry was treading on. If he didn't say the right things, Hokey would be required to tell the Master and Mistress they were being plotted against. House elf rules required her to do this.

"Hokey is loyal to house of Potters young master. But if Master and Mistress tell Hokey to do things then Hokey must." Slight regret could be heard in her voice.

Most house elves are strictly in a master and servant relationship with those who own them. However, Harry and Hokey are a minor exception. Harry had always treated Hokey as an equal because that is how Harry sees her and any other house elf.

"I see. So if the House of Potter were in danger of collapsing you would do what it takes to keep it from happening, right?" Harry spoke cautiously.

Hokey became frantic "House of Potters is being in danger!? Hokey must tell Master and Mistr-" Harry cut her off. "No! Hokey we musn't tell them anything. They're the reason this is happening." It took an hour to convince Hokey not to say anything to James or Lily. No one can say Hokey isn't at the very least loyal.

Harry usually ate in his room as a kid so when he was brought dinner by Hokey he told her that he would be joining the rest of the family at the table. Hokey was bouncing in excitement. "Yes young master Harry! Yous be eating at the table!" She popped away as he began to head down to the dining room.

He froze as he saw them sitting together laughing and having a wonderful dinner with one another. He felt the anger rising within him and had to force himself to be calm. From that came an idea. An idea to bring him and his family closer together; also to see them suffer a bit but mostly to bring them together. He gave an inward smile. 'This is going to be fun.'

He walked to the table and took a seat to the right of his mother and across from his brother. Yet they didn't notice him. At least not until he decided to speak.

"Lily." She jumped at the strange voice. 'Oh yeah. I forgot. I didn't really start speaking to them until I was like, five.'

His mother looked next to her and saw the little boy sitting there waiting for a response. She wondered why he didn't say mum or mummy like Henry did. "Hello Harry." She smiled at him until the next words that came out of his mouth were "Why do you hate me?"

Now James was looking at Harry as well. It took everything he had not to laugh at their faces. He even bit his bottom to stifle of laugh. But rather than stifling a laugh they thought he was choking back a sob.

With a sad look in her now watery eyes she said "W-what do you mean honey? We don't hate you. We love you." Harry had to mentally remind himself that this wasn't the future. This was during a time where Lily still had love for him in her heart. He needed to hold back a bit more than he wanted to.

"Then why didn't you celebrate my birthday yesterday." Today was coincidentally the day after his and Henry's birthday. 'A perfect opportunity to guilt trip her into my trap' He was rather proud of himself for coming up with it.

His father spoke with indignation in his voice. 'Gambling bastard' "What do you mean Harry, of course we celebrated your birthday. We had cake and balloons and we even invited some other children for you and Hank to play with."

"No. You did that for Henry. The only name on the cake and balloons was his. You-" he looked towards his dad"-told me to go to my room and stay there." Lily was mortified. A look of horror that left a guilty feeling in Harry's stomach. He may have had a grudge with both of his parents but it was really only James that Harry was angry with.

Lily, as nice as she may be to others, was too weak to say no to James. She did not do well with pressure from her peers. In fact as Harry learned from his potions tutor, Severus Prince, a few years after starting Hogwarts, James was the one who instigated her breaking off the friendship she had with him.

"JAMES CHARLUS POTTER!" 'This'll be fun to watch' Other than some muttering under his breathe James was silent and merely looked away as if none of that had anything to do with him. Lily took her sweet time to go from angry screaming to apocalyptic silence.

'Time to bring it home' "It's okay if you don't love me anymore mum- Lily. I'll just stay in my room and away from sight." And before his mother could say anything he quickly ran to the stairs and up to his bedroom.

Once he got there he realized that while it was fun giving James hell, doing it to Lily made him feel awful. Hearing her come up the stairs he dashed to a corner of the room and faced the wall with his head in his arms.

 **Scene Break**

Lily was sitting at the dinner table with her son and her husband laughing away at some of James' stories about him and the Marauders. She remembered those days fondly as well. Albeit for different reasons. Mainly, Severus. She had always regretted destroying her friendship with him.

When she discovered she was a witch her sister had shunned her while her parents couldn't really care less. But it was Severus who had been there to introduce her to the magical world. He had shown her nothing but understanding and compassion while she took it for granted.

And she had known how lonely a life Severus had lived with a mother who tried to provide and an abusive drunk of a father. So she knew just how much it hurt him to have her end their friendship because it honestly hurt her just as much.

But with James and the others there to distract her from the pain she never really dealt with the issues between her and Severus. She now wondered how he was without her. Happier? Sadder? She would never know. She lacked the courage to find him and ask.

She was taken out of her memories by her son Harry. She didn't know it was him because he had never spoken before this. Not even a 'ma' or 'da'. They had assumed he was just mute. Kind of irresponsible now that she thought of it. Also, where was he until now that dinner was nearly half way over?

And then his question was asked and her heart broke. 'How could he ask us why we don't love him? Of course we love him. He's Henry's brother….Henry's brother? What am I thinking, he's more than just Henry's brother. He's our son. _My_ son.'

The rest of the conversation after Harry left the table was spotty to her as she lost herself in her anger at James for doing what he did to Harry, disappointment in herself for not stopping or noticing it, and now in tears for Harry thinking she didn't love him.

She walked carefully up the stairs so she wouldn't accidently hurt the baby and walked towards where she thought Harry's room was. 'Why would we put him in the small bedroom when the room Henry sleeps in is big enough for both of them?'

Lily softly knocked on the door but was met with silence. Slowly she opened the door and went inside. Looking around she noticed that the room was very dark and very small. She noticed Harry huddling in a corner of the room.

"Harry?" No response. She walked up to him and kneeled down "Sweetheart?"

"What did I do wrong? I'll fix it, I promise." He sounded so devastated. Lily let out a tiny sob and brought him into her arms. "I would never hate you my love. I love you. Forever." Much to her surprise he didn't wail or cry; all he did was turn to give her a tight, silent hug.

"So you don't hate me?" he asked after several minutes. "No. Never. I'm sorry Harry. That never should have happened and it never will again. Okay?"

They sat there in silence until "Okay…mum." Lily smiled as she picked him up put him in his bed. They laid together on the bed until they both fell asleep to the soft lullaby gently being hummed to them.

A soft _pop_ went unheard by the two as a certain house elf left the room with a small smile on her face.

 **Scene Break**

After putting his pride and joy, Henry, to bed James sat in his office at his desk drinking fire whiskey and thinking about the events of dinner. 'She's beginning to think more about that little cretin _again_. Can't she see that Henry's more important? And it looks like the repulsing charm I placed on him broke. Maybe I'll place a repulsing charm on Lily instead and key it to Harry.'

After James discovered Henry was the 'Boy-Who-Lived' Harry had lost any meaning to him. In James' mind nothing Harry could ever do would be good enough. In fact, Harry to James was nothing more than a distraction to Henry's development as the future savior of the wizarding world.

That's why James did everything in his power to separate Harry from the rest of the family. He even went as far as to keep his own parents away them knowing that they would love Harry to pieces.

'I think Lily and I will have a nice long chat about Harry tomorrow night. If she can't be gently guided to see reason then I'll just have to push and shove until she does.'

With that in mind he downed his glass and got ready for bed on the pull out sofa in his office. He may be a grown man but Lily Potter had an explosive temper that would frightened anyone.


	3. Chapter 3

**_I Do Not Own Harry Potter. I would like to, but I don't. So this Fanfiction will do for now._**

 **Chapter 3: Family Time Is Fun Time**

Harry woke up feeling happy. It was a good way to start the morning so he thought he'd go downstairs and make himself some breakfast. 'Maybe I'll try eggs and buttered bagels. And I haven't had coffee in months.'

He tried to get out his bed when he realized he was quite stuck. A pair of arms were keeping him from moving. Turning over he sees his mother lying beside him with a smile on her face.

'It's an odd thing. I remember the Lily of my old life being quite cold to me. Never talking to me let alone giving me a smile. Now that I think about it it's like these two are totally different…people…'

"Can we go down to have breakfast mum? We could have eggs and toast." Lily's smile widened. "Yes we can. Tempus." She checked the time. "It's still early so it'll just be you and I for breakfast."

"Okay. I'll go wash up and then meet you in the kitchen." Lily nodded and headed for the door. Once she left Harry cast Finite Incantatum on himself and discovered several restrictions on his magical core including several weakened repulsion and aggression charms keyed towards his mother.

'Thankfully I didn't inherit mum's temper or else I just might end up with no father to be mad at.' Harry ran the shower and spent most of it dispelling certain charms that had not only restricted his magic but sapped away at it.

'No wonder I died so soon into the battle with Tom. I've never been at full magical strength before. Woah! Does this mean I'll get taller too!?' "Yes!" 'Oops. Hope no one heard that.' Luckily for him, no one did.

(A/N Quick Wizarding Fact: Magic not only extend their lifespans, it also helps Wizards and Witches mature faster than a Muggle child would. So rather than looking like a three year old, Harry looks and acts to be nearly five or even six. In fact, most of the wizarding world doesn't really care much for age. Only status, prestige, and capabilities.)

After getting out of the shower and getting dressed he headed to the kitchen to find his mother arguing with Hokey. He chuckled to himself as he remembered quite fondly the nights where Hokey would help him sleep by holding him and humming to him.

She would tell him of the misadventures she had with her 'Mistress Lily'. The daily battles of how a house elf must cook for their Mistresses' rather than the other way around. How her Mistress always 'threatened' to pay her for her hard work.

'It really is wonderful to see Hokey again.' When he went off to school he could only really see her during the breaks. And once he was of age he distanced himself from his family by moving out. He missed her. More than he realized.

Once the argument was won by a rather worked up Hokey, Lily came out to set the table. The two had apparently established a compromise. Harry walked into the kitchen and up to Hokey and before she could say anything he gave her a nice long hug.

Lily stuck her head in to say something to Hokey but upon seeing the hug between her son and the squirming and protesting house elf she slipped back into the dining room without another word.

Meanwhile Hokey was freaking out and stammering "Young master Harry musn't hug Hokey! Hokey is being very concerned for young master! Very bad to hug a lowly house elf!" Harry only hugged her closer. "That's nonsense Hokey. You're no lowly house elf. You're a member of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. And more importantly you're my friend, my family."

Any inkling of a struggle Hokey put up suddenly disappeared at Harry's words. Slowly her arms reached up and wrapped around him. "H-hokey is happy to hear y-young master say s-such kind words to Hokey."

As Lily looked on through a crack in the door she couldn't help but smile to herself about her son. The new light in her life. As the effects of the repulsion charms placed on Harry were no longer affecting her she felt better freer than she had in several years (A/N Approximately two according to the story's timeline.)

Harry walked out of the kitchen wearing a bright smile and sat down at the table across from Lily. A plate of eggs and toast appeared in front of him and his mother but also a stack of pancakes with a blueberry smiley face.

As he dug in with great fervor he thought to himself. 'Hokey. You are _sooo_ getting a getting paid.'

 **Scene Break**

After breakfast the mother and son pair took a trip to the Malfoy's to meet with some friends that Lily recently made. Harry must be making bigger waves than he thought he was because to his knowledge, his mother never had any real friends that she knew outside of the ones James knew.

Speaking of which, Harry was glad that she was being smart enough to have a wide range of friends of all backgrounds. Having only certain types of people as friends can get rather tedious.

And while Lucius Malfoy _was_ a Death Eater at one point during his youth he, like several others, came to regret joining when their "Master" showed little regard for his own men safety and even took pleasure in their suffering at the hands of his cruciatus curse.

Lucius joined the Dark Lord's cause in order to prevent the danger that Muggleborns posed to their ancient traditions. He had not expected their mission of self-preservation to be elevated to a full blown war between them and the ministry.

Needless to say several ex-Death Eaters had the same train of thought and had gotten off scott free with the death of their "Master" as well as claims of being under the imperius before the Wizengamot.

Some of the more notable turncoats include Narcissa Malfoy nee Black(not marked but repentant nonetheless), Alecto and Amycus Carrow, Igor Karkaroff,, Bellatrix Black, Augustus Rookwood, Regulus Black, and of course Severus Prince.

As Harry and Lily approached the Malfoy Manor wards Lily grabbed Harry's arm and side-long apparated into the reception area of the home. Already waiting for them were Bellatrix, Lucius, Narcissa, and Andromeda and Ted Tonks. Both sitting with Nymphadora lying down on the floor at their feet randomly changing her hair color.

'She looks rather bored' mused Harry as he looked around the room. 'That's the great thing about being from the future. You know who's ending up where and what they'll do to get there. And now that I have the home field advantage I'll abuse it as much as wizardly possible so that I'm never bored.'

With the greetings out of the way and the adults talking amongst themselves Harry took the chance to talk to Nymphadora. If she was anything now like she was when he knew her, talking to her would be fun.

"Hello. My name's Harridan. But you can call me Harry. What's your name?" he tried a simple approach rather than some complicated scheme. "Taken aback by his interest in her she tried to be friendly.

"My name is Nymphadora but you'd better call me Tonks. I hate my name." Harry was not surprised that she opened with that. If Nymphadora was known for one thing it was hatred of her name.

"Why? It's a nice name." Harry thought he might try a little experiment on her. It's not like it'd hurt her or anything. "I don't like my name because it's weird. No one normal names their daughter Nymphadora. It's long and it stinks and my mother is the worst for naming me."

Nymphadora became very worked up over her name. "Well my name isn't really Harry. It's actually short for Harridan James Potter. At first I didn't really like my name either but the more I thought about it the better it got." Calming down and pushing away the tears in her eyes Nymphadora asked "You don't hate your name? But why? It's almost as bad as Nymphadora."

Ignoring the jab at his name Harry pressed on "Well, I like to think that my mother wanted my name to be original. Something people would remember in their hearts when I achieve greatness. And I find that unique names like Nymphadora" she growled at him "and Harridan are more likely to be remembered than boring names like Stacey or Richard. You know?"

Nymphadora was quiet for a long time after that. Suddenly she spoke with hesitation in her voice. "D-do you really think Nymphadora is a nice name?" He smiled "It's a beautiful name that I'd wear with pride if I were you." She blushed heavily. Nobody had ever complimented her name before. Only jokes and laughter. "T-Then I guess since you're m-my only friend you can say it. We _are_ friends…right?"

Had she seen the smile on his face she wouldn't have had to ask. "Of course we're friends Nymphadora. You and I are two of the same kind." Slightly confused at the 'same kind' thing she could only nod her head as if she understood.

About an hour later Andromeda walked in to let Nymphadora know that they were leaving. Lily came to tell Harry the same not long after.

 **Scene Break**

Once they left the Malfoy's Harry and Lily went to Diagon Alley to check out some of the shops. It was surprising to Harry that Lily had not actually seen most of the shops in Diagon Alley. She mostly just stayed in Godric's Hollow, made trips to Gringotts, or visited Dumbledore at Hogwarts.

Speaking of which 'I need to make sure Dumbledore thinks I'm a natural occlumens when we meet. I may think him as a great man but he is just too enthralled with learning secrets. Which is actually what killed him last time around.'

Harry liked Dumbledore because he was honest with him and guided him at his lowest point. Also the man was hysterically funny in Harry's opinion.

As they went into the book store Harry went to the kids' section to see the books about the 'Boy-Who-Lived'. As his mother came to get him so they could go to Ollivander's he asked her a question. One that would hopefully open up another source of income for the Potter's.

"Mum, why do all these books talk about Henry doing cool things he doesn't do? Has he really fought a dragon?" Lily explained that those were just stories people put out to sell their books and tell stories. "Ohh okay."

He picked up the book and walked out of the store without paying. The man at the register stopped Harry. "Now you're going to have to pay for that if you want it little boy." 'I hate being called little boy _old man_ ' except he couldn't exactly deny that he was a little boy at the moment. Lily stepped in "Harry we have to pay for the book if you want to take it home"

"But the book is about Henry. Why do we have to pay if it's about him?" Lily didn't know how to answer that. What he said makes a surprising amount of sense but… "I'm sorry Harry but we still need to pay for the book." Harry put on a look a disappointment and lowered his head "Fine."

Putting the book back and walking out the door he hoped he planted enough of the idea in her head. He was pretty sure they didn't receive royalties from these books. Which they should have been since they first came out.

On their way to Ollivander's they saw a stern looking woman who was immediately recognized as Professor McGonagall. She was going into Gringotts so only Harry saw her. Seeing the older woman, however, made him start to think that he really only had short term goals. He needed to start planning for happened when he begins attending Hogwarts. 'Winging it only got most of Henry's people killed, after all."

As they walked into Ollivander's Harry could feel his old wand calling out to him and his magic trying to respond. Luckily his mother and Mr. Ollivander went to the back to discuss something. Harry could see the box containing his wand shaking its way out of its holding space and towards him.

Finally shaking itself loose the box opened up and the wand flew to Harry's hand. A large flurry of red, green, and silver sparks shot out of the end of his wand. He relished in feeling the connection between himself and the wand that chose him all those years ago.

He used evanesce to vanish the wand box. His mother came back with Mr. Ollivander who looked very pleased.

Afterwards they went out for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron for some lunch and then to Florean Fortescue's for ice cream. His mother had told him about her new apprenticeship with Mr. Ollivander so she could become a wand maker someday. It was secret she wanted to keep from James so she could surprise him.

By the time they got home it was almost dark out. They had spent the rest of the day out and exploring the nooks and crannies of the shopping district. And when they got back to the house they found it empty.

"Hmm. They must be out. How about we start making dinner huh?" Harry gave her a smile. "Sure!" 'Today was a great day. And I honestly thank whatever higher power gave me this opportunity. I shall not squander it.'

 **Scene Break**

James had woken up with the intention of spending the day with his wife and son but woke up to find his wife gone. Annoyed, he woke up Henry and spent the day with him. They went mostly spent their time with James' gambling buddies. (A/N #BadDad)

Once it started getting late he and Henry went back home to find his wife cooking up dinner with the house elf and the other one. 'Tonight' he thought to himself with a cold look in his eye 'I'll set her straight about this nonsense tonight'


	4. Chapter 4

**_I don't own Harry Potter. But that won't stop me from making an epic Fanfiction about it._**

 **Chapter 4: A Painful Necessity**

Harry kept a close eye on James as he, his mother, and Hokey made dinner for everyone. It was an uphill battle with Hokey just to let them stay in the kitchen let alone cook in it. 'She's still giving us the evil eye. And it's oddly intimidating.' He thought slightly amused.

Dinner was awkward as Henry and James talked to each other and ignored Lily and Harry. That was until her water broke and she went into labor. James was quick to call St. Mungo's and soon after that Miriam Strout had shown up with two other healers.

After several hours of rather painful sounding labor his little sister Elizabeth was born. However her name was no longer Elizabeth. Lily had decided to name her Emily instead. 'I wonder if I had anything to do with that. Pfft, of course I did. I guess this also means I have to call her Em instead of Liz'

Harry walked into the room and James was nowhere to be found. "Where did Ja- my father go? Shouldn't he be here?" The healer was hesitant to reply. "Your father said that he'd had a long day and went to go lie down. I'm not sure if he's seen them yet."

Harry said nothing as he walked towards his mother and baby sister. 'That sorry excuse of a man.' "Hey sweetie. Would you like to hold Emily?" she asked with a tinge of sadness and desperation in her voice.

Lily was very heartbroken that James had not been with her after Emily was born. She saw the look of indifference towards both her and the baby and had she the strength to do so Lily might have burst into tears right then and there.

She had hoped that Harry wouldn't be the same. An unfounded possibility but one she feared regardless. The thing that must be understood about Lily above all else is also her biggest flaw. She does not handle rejection well.

More accurately she cannot function without the approval or acceptance of others. This damaged psyche of hers is the result of her home life. A sister that ignored her with accusations of her being 'nothing more than a freak' and parents who tended to be more than non-committal to her and what she did.

Although she managed to make to this point in her life without any _major_ incidents, she's met a few rough patches. One of the bumpier patches would be her friendship with Severus Prince. At that point in her life she had very few connections with other people. And among those the two most important ones were with James and Severus.

When James, unknown to Lily, purposely instigated the events leading Lily to end her friendship with Severus he also unwittingly became her only tether to reality. Luckily for Lily he gave her something to stave off any lingering uncertainties about her existence.

It is no exaggeration to say that Lily's children keep her from falling apart at the seams. Her small group of friends do provide some comfort to her, but ultimately it is Harry, Henry, and now Emily who keep her stable.

Harry, who was currently trying to hold Emily as least awkwardly as possible, had no idea of the extensive issues Lily had but _did_ know that right then and there she needed someone to give her reassurances lest she, and by default Emily, feel even less wanted than James' nonchalance made her feel.

(A/N This was sad to put in but I love the depth her character gets from this. Comment how you feel.)

As Lily saw Harry holding Emily with such care and tenderness she felt whole again. And as if the weight of the world was lifted off of her shoulders she slipped slowly into unconsciousness with relief.

 **Scene Break**

Harry watched in horror as his mother had slowly drifted to sleep. 'W-what!? You can't just give me a baby to hold and then pass out! That's not something that should ever be done! I mean I have many skills but taking care of a baby is not one of them.'

After a few minutes of almost frantic pacing around the room the fog in his brain clears and an idea shines through. "Hokey." He whispers so as to not wake her up. A soft _pop_ is heard and Hokey is in front of him.

"You know how to take care of babies, right?" 'Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes' but his hopes and prayers were for naught. "Hokey is sorry young master Harry. Hokey not knowing how to care for baby Emily"

'Nooooooo!' Another idea strikes him. "Do you happen to know of any house elves that can take care of babies and also need a master to work for?"

Harry was somewhat familiar with house elf politics. He knew that house elves being let go wasn't an uncommon thing. Usually they're too old to be of any use to most families and sometimes the families they worked for just don't feel the need to keep them.

Luckily for Harry Hokey more often than not comes through when it counts. "Hokey does! Hokey knows that Tizzy and Dobby is looking for families to take them in!" 'Dobby? I guess the Malfoy's haven't made him their house elf yet.' "Ask them if they would be willing to be my personal house elves. 'I have the feeling that I'm going to need all the help I can get.'

Tizzy and Dobby were brought to Godric's Hollow by Hokey in the hopes of a family taking one of them in. "Hokey has brought Dobby and Tizzy young master." 'Dobby looks no different than he did when I first saw him. And Tizzy… well it's always odd to see house elves have hair.'

"Hello Dobby. Hello Tizzy. You're here because I want one, or both, of you to be my personal house elf. Are either of you able to take care of a baby?" Tizzy was very excited that she may be a use to a family like the Potter's. But Dobby was understandably less excitable.

House elves are more than just servants for wizards. They are living beings. People. (A/N For future reference, people are not exclusively human. When I say people I may be talking about centaurs or humans, or even goblins. In this case it's house elves.) They have needs and desires like most living things do.

For example they _need_ to be bonded to a witch or wizard, or their family, in order to survive. The magic that they have sustains the house elves, and allows them the use of their innate magic, is the magic each witch or wizard gives off.

However, they also _want_ to be with a witch or wizard that treats them well. It is a sad fact that most house elves are looked upon as the dregs of the magical world because of their small size and stature as well as their very submissive behavior.

Yet the most surprising fact is that house elves are, in reality, very powerful in their own right. And even more surprising they are a magic based species. The magic they use is all the more powerful because their bonds with their owners strengthen their magical core.

House elves are never to be underestimated. This is however one lesson that Harry had, in his first life, been glad to learn while on the run.

When Dobby heard that the elf needed to know how to care for babies he was crestfallen. He had no experience with children and now he wouldn't be taken in. A great shame in his opinion. House elves with no witch or wizard to keep them was disgrace of a house elf even amongst their own. This mindset is instilled in generation after generation of house elf and still runs strong.

He was about to pop out when Harry called out to him "Dobby would you like to be my personal house elf? I have Tizzy because I want my little sister taken care of. But I want you to be my personal house elf."

Jumping up and down in joy Dobby excitably rambled "Great wizard talks to Dobby so kindly! Great wizard wants Dobby to be house elf. Dobby says yes. Dobby-" Harry interrupts his increasingly loud cheers "needs to keep his voice down so he doesn't wake my mother."

Dobby looked down sheepishly and said in a hushed voice "Dobby is sorry sir. Dobby is happy to be kept." After Dobby bound himself to harry as his personal house elf, Tizzy also bound herself to Harry.

'This time she'll be powerful _and_ sensible if I have anything to say about it. No more of that arrogant attitude. That'll get her killed in the years to come.' That actually _did_ get her killed. No less than a week after graduating.

"Now that everything is settled let's get to bed shall we. Hokey, stay here and keep an eye on my mum. Wake me if anything happens. Tizzy" the house elf listened with rapt attention. "Take care of Emily. Make sure nothing happens to her. If anything does-" he let the threat hang.

Sometimes house elves make mistakes, very rarely, but they happen nonetheless. He wasn't really threatening Tizzy so much as giving her incentive to not mess up. It was his baby sister after all.

"Yes Master Harry. Tizzy will take care of Master Harry's Emmy." Harry gently handed Emily to Tizzy who walked into the next room. "Dobby come with me. Goodnight Hokey." "Goodnight young master Harry."

 **Scene Break**

"My name is Harry Potter." He smiled "Would you like a seat Dobby?" It took all he had not to laugh when he saw the look on Dobby's face. "The great Harry Potter would offer Dobby a _seat_? He would treat Dobby like an _equal_? Master Harry Potter sir, Dobby cannot. Dobby is only a lowly house elf."

' _Lowly house elf?'_ It seems like most house elves have the same opinion of themselves. How sad. There's no re- wait. What if that's what the voice meant? ' **To promote of that which has been denied?** ' Equality, maybe?'

Harry was silent for a few moments before speaking. 'Might as well nip the butt.' "Dobby. You are my house elf now. There will be no inequality between us. You are alive and I am alive. You use magic and I use magic. The only difference between us is that I am human and you a house elf."

Dobby was frozen. Never had a wizard been so…he didn't know what to call it. Unable to process this he just stood there. 'Seems like I can't rush this. I guess these things take time.' "Don't worry about it for now Dobby. Let's just get some sleep." He closed his eyes and almost immediately opened them.

"Dobby. Makes sure my father stays asleep until tomorrow afternoon. Same with my brother." His eyes closed again and this time he fell asleep.

 **Scene Break**

Harry woke up to Hokey calling his name. "Young master Harry. Young master Harry!" His eyes opened to Hokey trying to shake him awake. "Mmmm…what is it Hokey?"

"Mistress Lily be calling for you. Master James is not waking up and Mistress Lily be feeling sad." Harry was now up and about. He felt bad to put his mother through this but she needed to be away from James. He was, as the muggles put it, a cancer to the Potter family.

Harry quickly ran down the stairs and straight to his mother. Before he entered the room, however, he waited for a second. He could hear her sobs echoing through the room. His heart went out to her but it was a necessary pain. James must no longer have any influence in either of their lives.

If his actions thus far have proven anything, it's that James Potter must be alienated as much as possible. Lily must be firmly on Harry's side and so must his sister if he has any hope of securing a better future for himself and those that are swept alongside him.

He knocked on the door and walked inside the room. 'This'll be tough.'

Lily noticed her son walk into the room and tried to hastily clean herself up. She gave him a rather weak smile that only made her look that much sadder. "Did you want to see me mum?"

"Sniff…I want to hold Emily but that elf won't let me. I-I don't even know why she's here!" 'Shit. She's starting to get angry.' "Tizzy." _Pop_ "Give Emily to my mum. If she asks for Emily then you give Emily to her. Now go wait with Dobby in my room. I'll be up to speak with you later." "Yes Master."

From what sounded like everywhere at once " _Harridan_. _James_. _Potter_." 'Oh shit.' "Where did you get that house elf? Why did she call you Master? Who is Dobby? You had better answer me Harry James. _Now."_

Harry stood there in both fear and deep contemplation. Many thoughts and questions came to his mind. 'Wasn't she crying a second ago? Did she mention Dobby? Damn she's perceptive. What should I say? Would she kill me if I lied? Would they find me if I didn't?'

Met with Harry's guilty silence Lily was now going from mild eruption to catastrophic detonation and it was showing on her face. 'May she grant me a quick death.' He silently prayed.

 **Scene Break**

Somewhere in Ottery St. Catchpole.

A small girl with a dreamy expression on her face started giggling as she sat across from her mother. Her mother, who was tending to a potion, smiled towards the little girl as she stirred the blue liquid. 'I wonder what's so funny' However, her daughter's laughter had distracted her stirring. One clockwise turn was all it took.

The potion began to bubble violently and as she turned to add in another ingredient the cauldron exploded and the woman was sent flying. Her daughter had been far enough away so that she wasn't touched but she herself was not so lucky. "Mummy!"

The little girl ran to her mother. "Pandora!" Her father had appeared out of nowhere sprinting towards his wife. He turned her over and saw varying degrees of burns covering the front of her. The worst of it covered her stomach, the lower part of her chest, and her fore arms and hands.

After splashing bottle after bottle of burn salve on his wife he ran to his fireplace to floo St. Mungo's. Looking at her mother lying on the ground her dreamy expression returned and she smiled thankfully. Her mother was still alive. 'It was earlier than I expected but I'm glad I wasn't wrong. You have my thanks Harridan Potter. More than you'll ever know.'

"Luna! Come get your coat we're leaving." Luna turned to grab her coat. 'I wonder what else he'll change.'


	5. Chapter 5

**_I don't own Harry Potter. But I would like to say I really, really want to. Like really badly._**

 **Chapter 5: I'd Really Rather Not…**

 **(Harridan is now Hadrian. Thanks for the heads up!)**

Lily Potter was waiting for her son to start explaining. It was not often she felt both worry, extreme anger, and mild annoyance all at once. That house elf really had some nerve. Not letting her see and hold Emily. Her own baby!

She told Hokey to get Harry because of what the stupid new elf kept saying. "Master Harry told Tizzy to take care of Master Harry's Emmy. Tizzy is not letting Master Harry's Emmy near stranger!" She popped away after that.

Lily had gotten so angry and almost immediately just as sad. She remembered how James had acted the night before. So cold and indifferent towards her and Emily. She felt so abandoned. All alone in the world. With no Emily to hold or Harry to talk to, Henry was never one to show his mother love, and James was off not caring much about her at all.

These thoughts brought her to tears and she began to cry. Not long after she heard Harry come in asking about why she called for him. She looked at his concerned face and thought of how mature he was for someone so young. 'It's odd really. Kind of like he's a little man.'

Then the confusion and anger came back. Voicing her questions and demands she was met with what she thought to be guilty silence from Harry. She was now out of patience. But before she could go off Harry had spoken. She was stunned.

 **Scene Break**

Harry had a tough choice to make. He didn't know his mother to well because the last time he knew her she was a terrible person in his opinion. To him she loved no one who couldn't get her what she wanted in life. But he had come to realized that it was James who was at the root of the problem.

But faced with her questions of Dobby and Tizzy he came to a new realization. She was smart. Too smart. Sooner or later his mother would ask the questions he didn't want to answer. And if she did, if she was as relentless in getting the answers she wanted as she was in his past, he might as well give up everything.

He knew all too well that he was, in her eyes as of this moment, her little boy. A child. A fear he'd never felt before was in the pit of his stomach. 'What if she rejects me? As childish as that sounds, it's a real possibility.'

It was sad that he didn't know Lily's extenuating circumstances or else he'd have known that it was almost a physical impossibility for Lily to reject Harry after the time they've spent together. Before his rebirth Harry wasn't really loved from the beginning do Lily focused so much love and time on Henry that Harry wasn't one of her vital connections.

Unsurprisingly, her fractured psyche is the reason behind her swift mood swings. It lessens her hold on her emotions and practically forces them onto her sleeve. When she gets angry she's livid but can just as easily get sad out of concern.

Back to his thoughts he came to a decision. A really very hard decision that completely sucked in his opinion. 'She might kill me but she probably won't. Maybe' "We need to talk about…things"

She raised an eyebrow at this. "And just what _things_ do we need to talk about?" She was still angry but kept her voice low so she didn't wake Emily. 'Thank you Emily. Angry _and_ loud would not be good.'

"I am not who you think I am." 'Please let this not be a mistake.' Most traces of anger gone from her face she sat up confused. Harry spoke out again. "Muffliato." A strong silencing charm engulfed the room.

"Wh- Harry did you-" "Just let me finish. I would never had told you this had you not proven yourself completely terrifying when angry and also stubborn as hell." "Hadrian James, language!" He winced. 'Damn it! How does she do that?'

"This is a very sad story that I will not tell twice. Ask as many questions as you can now because I doubt I'll answer them later." He began the story of his life. It was shorter than you'd expect but very informative so Lily had few questions to ask.

"So, what do you think?"

 **Scene Break**

Xenophilius and Pandora were in the kitchen talking. Luna had gone to bed earlier that night. Pandora was saddened at the turn of events. The healers had told her that the more severe burns on her body wouldn't be fully healed for a long time.

She was a woman who was passionate about her potion making. The burns she had limited the use of her hands and thus prevented her from making potions. Xenophilius, who was very much attuned to his wife, knew what she was feeling.

He has spent the last week trying to cheer her up and bring back her usual happy self but all to no avail. Pandora could recognize his efforts and felt grateful her husband was trying but it was hard. To never do what you love for such a long time, if ever again would depress anybody.

However, unknown to her, it wouldn't be long before her troubles were over. She merely needed to wait a few more months and her problems would be gone. This would be the result of Luna's hard work.

But for now _The Quibbler_ would have a new reporter on its payroll.

 **Scene Break**

Luna Lovegood was one of many seers in her family. The only difference between them and her was that she actively see the various outcomes and separate the ones that _may_ happen and the ones that _will_ happen.

Doing so has allowed her to prevent many catastrophes in the year that she's been seeing these futures. Normally a two year old, even by magical standards, should have nowhere near the intelligence she has. However most two year olds are not Luna Lovegood.

The futures she sees influence her constantly. Her knowledge, her personality, her ability to understand and comprehend. All of these are no less than that of a fully grown witch or wizard. She has been in a constant state of learning since birth and has come out on top because of it.

However she is not the only seer to be born with this gift. Most seers, assumed to just be smarter than the average child their age, as children are more intelligent than others would be. But as one would expect from such an advanced seer, not that anyone knows she is, she is beyond others.

The only way to accurately describe her situation is to compare it with Harry's. While Harry has come back to the past, _his_ past, with knowledge of his future Luna never left but has knowledge of _multiple_ futures both possible and definite.

 **Scene Break**

A week and a half had gone by after Harry and Lily talked. It was not a good week. Actually it was pretty bad. Lily had withdrawn into herself. Aside from taking care of Emily and the occasional trip to Diagon Alley she didn't do much else. Harry felt he was to blame.

He told her the full extent of his life up until about a month ago. His past life, his suspicions of James, and even his possible plans for the future. He felt responsible for her behaving this way. Many times he was tempted to go up to her and beg for her forgiveness. But he just couldn't bring himself to do so.

He had never been so vulnerable before. So insecure about another person's opinion of him. The days of his past where he had spent every waking minute of his life surrounded by so many people yet still so alone left their marks on him. The fear of rejection after acceptance was crippling.

One day he decided to just go for it. He was a grown man after all. He needed to deal with it as such.

"Mum?" Silence. They were alone in the study; Tizzy had just put Emily down for a nap.. Lily had just gotten back from Ollivander's, from her apprenticeship, and James and Henry went to see James' gambling buddies. "I'm sorry. I know you're angry at me for lying. You probably don't even want to look at me. But I didn't choose this. I was _sent_ back. For what reason I don't know. But…"

He didn't know what to say after that. It was a deafening silence that followed his apology. He was about to say something again when she got up. Harry watched as Lily crossed the room and stood in front of him. He waited for the slap, the yelling and cursing, the crying.

A hug. Lily had kneeled down and given him a hug. "Don't you dare apologize to me. Not to me or anyone else. And I'm not mad at you Harry. I'm ashamed of myself. Ashamed of what I- _she_ did to you. How I could have turned into that I'll never know. But I am sorry you had to go through that. I can't do much to fix it, but I can still be your mother. Grown man in a child's body or not."

Harry didn't know what to say. So he said nothing and just hugged her back; and they stayed like that for a while.

Lily was the first to speak. "So, James is actually…that bad." Harry looked across the room. "Yes. He ruined this family with his gambling. We lost everything. I've tried to save us with my knowledge of what companies succeed in the future but, now I'm thinking we should abandon ship."

"What do you mean?" Lily could accept that James would lead them to a life with shallow pockets. He was a big gambler no matter how many times she tried to get him to stop. And lately he's been started to drink too.

"I mean, we need to shed ourselves of the Potter name. Or at the very least you do. I know for a fact that James doesn't check with Gringotts too often. Even then it's just to withdraw more money. If he continues down this set path then we have until my second year of Hogwarts until the Potter family fortune runs dry." Harry wasn't done.

"But if we keep putting in money to make sure he doesn't ever need to do a serious looksee through the Potter business' then we can last until my fifth year. It can be done rather easily. Pretty good for a month worth of planning and effort if I do say so myself." Harry had to catch his breath. That was kind of a mouthful.

Lily was thinking and it was several minutes before she said anything. "What if we open a new vault? A new _family_ vault. One where only you and I have access. I think my love for James is all but gone now so I have few problems with screwing the git over."

Harry smiled and laughed. Genius! How did he not think of that? "That's perfect. I say Ms. Evans you are quite the Slytherin, aren't you?" Lily laughed and ruffled his hair. 'This is good. Great, even. Better than I could have possibly hoped for. James is going down and me and mum will be better off because of it.' Things were looking up.

 **Scene Break**

Luna tied the note to her family owl Grover. "Take this to Harry, Grover. This is your most important mission yet. Do hurry back." Grover hooted with duty and flew off as fast as his little wings could carry him.

"And now we wait. Hopefully he's one of the nicer Harrys. Some of him are just plain rude." To the average person Luna was talking to herself. To those who understood, Luna was talking to herself.

 **Scene Break**

Harry woke up with a smile on his face. Today was the day. His birthday had come and he was now eleven. His Hogwarts letter should be here soon. 'Today is the day our years of hard work comes to fruition.' He looked out of his bedroom window.

'So much has happened these last few years it's amazing. So many changes made all for one purpose. Our purpose. Mum and her sister getting together and working out their issues, Emily growing up into who she should have been after all, James and Henry being kicked to the curb. Mum is still rather upset about Henry. He's become so arrogant and entitled.'

A disappointed sigh left him. 'I tried to change him but he's too set in his ways. I'm sorry to say he's a lost cause. James. That manipulative bastard. If only I'd tried to help sooner. Maybe I could have done something. Or maybe I'm just blaming James for my failure...I don't know.'

"Hadrian James Potter! You had better be down here in one minute if you want any of the cake I made!" 'Mum's show voice.' After years of Lily and Harry working together and plotting the course of events they had developed several ways of alerting the other to various situations.

When Lily scolded him in a loud Molly Weasley-esque manner there were people present. When she called him Hadrian she was either playing the role of angry mother or actually angry with him. It's hard to tell if you're not used to her temper.

"Coming mum!" 'Here we go.' Hurrying down the stairs he walked into a room with many recognizable faces, and hair. From across the room he could see a mass of redheads spread out around the room.

Harry had made himself friends with the Weasley family simply because he liked them. Well, most of them. Percy was rough around the edges but once you got past that then he was a pretty cool guy. Loyalty was something Harry required of his friends above all other things. He learned that lesson the hard way in a previous life that he tries not to dwell on.

Molly, loud as she was, always had Harry's interests at heart. Commenting on how skinny he was and needed to eat more, talking to him about the dangers of flying on a broom. She was kind of like a mum away from mum. 'Not necessarily a bad thing' he once thought.

Arthur was, to his understanding, the opposite of Molly. He was always calm and collected. A very warm and caring person who was passionate about what he did. Muggles always interested Harry as well. And when he lived among them during his years on the run he learned a lot.

These past few years he had been actively talking to Arthur, anonymously of course, about Muggles and their current ways of life. Having an ill-informed Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office was not really helping anyone. It was one of his side projects that he and Lily took turns on.

Fred and George Weasley were, in Harry's opinion, worth being friendly with. Despite their pranks and seemingly non-committal personalities, they were intelligent and very reliable young men. When you were with them, they were with you and Harry respected them.

Harry had met Bill and Charlie Weasley a handful of times in the past but they always gave him a good vibe. He found them to be rather friendly with everybody. He would keep an eye out for them if possible.

Ron, however, had been the one Weasley he could not stand. Even when he barely knew Ron in his other life he always seemed so shallow. Now that he's met him, he can honestly say that Ron _is_ shallow. He didn't see them being friends in the meantime, if ever.

And finally, Ginny. Ginny was exactly as he remembered her being; sans the fanatical interest in his brother the 'Boy-Who-Lived'. It had taken a lot longer than he would have liked to rid her of the notion that Henry was anything more than he is. After that he had gotten to know her and found that he regretted not knowing her before. Or at the very least not acknowledging her advances. _That_ was one mistake he wouldn't make again.

Moving on, he saw the Malfoys. He didn't know much about the Malfoys personally last time. Only what others said about them. Luckily he had met Draco early on in his life so they grew to be rather close. The only thing he knew about Draco was that he grew up to be rather bigoted. And considering who his father is and how he acts, that is rather surprising. Ex death eater sure, but he has come to regret those days so old Draco's behavior was still a mystery to Harry.

Narcissa was one of the few people who scared him. Not because she was more powerful but because she had what he calls 'The Look'. He didn't know how they had developed it, but the women in his life each managed to develop one. Molly, Lily, Narcissa, Bellatrix, Andromeda. All of them. 'It's one of the mysteries of life' Harry would think to himself as he would often receive one for one reason or another. His only hope was that Emily didn't develop one.

Andromeda, Ted, and Nymphadora couldn't make it to the party because of a prior engagement with a family member from Ted's side of the family. Harry didn't blame them but Henry sure did. He made his displeasure known in the form of a rather hurtful howler to Nymphadora. But that is a story for a later date because right now:

""Happy Birthday Henry! Happy Birthday Harry!"" Right now it's time for cake.

 **Scene Break**

The cake had been eaten, the guests had left, and all the leftover food had been packed and put away. Not even seven o'clock yet and a sudden tapping on the window had drawn Harry's attention. His mother was washing dishes, his father passed out on the couch, and his brother absorbed in his gifts. He received the letter and recognized the writing.

"Hogwarts letters are here!" 'Now it begins.' Lily walked in the room and the two shared a look. Nodding, Harry opened the letter and feigned his surprise.


	6. Chapter 6

**_I don't own Harry Potter. Aaand now I'm sad._**

 **Chapter 6: The Hogwarts Express!**

Harry and Henry were taken to Diagon Alley a couple of days later to get their wands and other school supplies. The only cause for concern was that Harry already had his wand.

Because Harry already picked up his school supplies a few weeks ahead of his letter arriving he just waited around until he and his mother met up with James and Henry at Ollivander's.

James, rather obnoxiously, insisted that Henry be the one to go first. It made for an awkward atmosphere and it seemed that even Henry was being bothered by it. Harry took a careful look at his brother.

'With only James to look after him I'd half expected him to have an equally pompous attitude. Guess there's some hope for him after all.' Harry was a bit mystified by the whole ordeal as he tried to stay away from Henry and his father as much as possible.

Ever since Harry came back to his younger days, the Potter family seemed to be divided. As far as anyone who paid enough attention could tell it was Harry and Lily on one side and James and Henry on the other.

This didn't mean that there was no interaction between sides. In fact, Lily repeatedly made an effort to try an undo any likely damage that James brought on Henry. Harry didn't seem to mind her trying as long as she was careful.

Why he wanted her to be careful is the same reason he led such an awful life before. James was a manipulative bastard and Henry's wretchedness was the byproduct of his machinations. Lily, he assumed, was merely a convenient tool to help shape Henry into who he was.

It took almost two hours to find Henry's wand and when they did James, who was too keen on getting away his wife and other son, took Henry and quickly left the shop.

There was a moment of silence after the twosome left and Harry could almost feel the trepidation and depression coming off of Lily. He knew she wanted to have her family back in one piece, but he also knew that she understood it would never happen.

Mr. Ollivander, who had stayed quiet through their open display of family drama, spoke up about Harry's need for a wand so as to break the tension in the air.

It didn't surprise him, unlike it did his mother and Mr. Ollivander that none of the wands in Ollivander's had chosen him. "Hmm. I do believe that you are a special case Mr. Potter. It seems to me that your wand must be suited for you and only you."

Harry, with his past life's experience, knew what Ollivander meant but couldn't show it. Most eleven year olds wasn't supposed to know anything about the technical side of magic. "What does that mean? Am I not getting a wand?" 'Ugh, I hate this acting clueless crap.'

The older man laughed at Harry's guess "That's not what I mean Mr. Potter. What I am saying is that your wand simply hasn't been made yet. Which means that rather than getting your wand today, you would be getting it before you leave for Hogwarts. My owl should reach your home the night before the train leaves the station."

Harry wore a look a childish disappointment at his words. "Okay." What followed after was Mr. Ollivander taking Harry's measurements, testing and recording his affinities with several types of woods and cores, several under the breath comments from Mr. Ollivander about the joys of "difficult customers" and "challenging wands"

At this point Lily had already finished her apprenticeship with Mr. Ollivander and had become a certified wand maker. However, she didn't open her own shop out of respect to Mr. Ollivander. Harry felt this was a good choice. Getting on the wrong side of one of the only wand maker around wouldn't be smart.

 **Scene Break**

After dealing with the wand situation, Harry and Lily took a trip to Gringotts to see Director Ragnok. Over the years the Director came to evaluate Harry higher and higher. Ragnok would often say to his employees "The boy isn't so bad, for a wizard" after meeting with Harry, and sometimes his mother, to discuss their interests.

When Harry first came to Gringotts, he did his best to make a lasting impression. The Goblin's have always hated wizards and looked for any opportunity to obstruct them.

These obstructions became more frequent in the couple of years that came before Harry graduated Hogwarts. Their most destructive acts came during Voldemort's second grab for power.

He convinced them to cut off any influential Light wizards from their fortunes and give away Ministry secrets. How he did so Harry never found out. He just knew that this time he needed to be the one to get the Gringott's aid.

Harry was very happy that his idea to tell Lily about who he really is didn't blow up in his face. She has been more helpful with his plots and plans then he ever expected her to be. Without her he wouldn't be as prepared as he is.

When he told Lily of his plan with Gringotts she was able to point out several things that would have come back to hurt him. Originally he planned on telling Gringotts the names of the companies and stocks that do well in the future.

It was a little known fact that Gringotts pays attention to the Muggle economy. So Harry, who was aware of this little tidbit of information, figured that with the boost that it would provide Gringotts he would gain their partnership.

Lily pointed out the major flaw in his otherwise flawless plan. Goblins are tricky little creatures that'll suck you dry and leave you to hang if you didn't manage to play their little game correctly.

Goblins are well known to be greedy and may even boast that fact. They use it to death because of the advantages it brings. But it's also, at least according to Lily, a major flaw. Their greed is near insatiable and if one played their cards right it would also be their weakness.

Harry knew of _several_ companies that became successful in the future. If he played his hand right then he could have the Goblins around his finger for a time. Harry was flabbergasted when he was done talking with Lily.

He was shocked that he missed such a giant hole in his plan. Since then, he and Lily have made regular trips to Gringotts over the years to drop a name and secure the secrecy of the Evans' Family vault.

Since all Family vaults are known to the Ministry, Harry and Lily needed to pay for its concealment. The deal made by Ragnok, Harry, and Lily was for a name to be given every two years in exchange for a certain amount of money and the contained privacy of the Evans' family and its assets.

Harry found it interesting how it came down to paying Gringotts off to maintain their secret. The Evans' family, to the surprise of both Lily and Harry, was actually a forgotten branch of the Gaunt family and is therefore a member, albeit a very distant member, of the Slytherin line.

Lily was stunned into silence when she found out and Harry was mostly nonchalant about the situation. He personally didn't much care for the whole bloodline aspect of the wizarding world. But he did find the situation itself faintly interesting.

He knew that Godric Gryffindor's bloodline split into the Peverell family that eventually became the Potter family. He had the bloodline of Gryffindor; that he knew. He also had a very likely suspicion that Muggleborns technically didn't exist.

And in reality, he was right. Muggleborns are essentially the children of squibs whose bloodline had been so watered down by inbreeding that their magic was virtually nonexistent. At least, it _was_ nonexistent until some random genetic thing happened and the magic suddenly began working.

That's about as far as he was able to research into that topic before he died. He'd made a mental note when he discovered his other origins to possibly continue his research. Maybe.

It wouldn't be as big of a deal if Voldemort wasn't going to resurrect within the next seven or eight years. After their little stop at the lovely bank that is Gringotts they went home.

 **Scene Break**

As Lily went to get ready for bed, she had long since stopped sharing a bedroom with James, Harry held a meeting with his house elves. It was about time his little spies reported in.

"Dobby. Tizzy." _Pop._ "Master Harry be calling for Dobby and Tizzy?" Harry had the good sense to use his house elves in a more productive manner than just servitude.

All throughout the day they spied on his father, brother, and sister. Every month he would get a report on how each of them behaved behind closed doors. What they told him as of late has been peculiar.

His father, as usual, is the same git he's always been. Plotting this and that and trying to gamble more of their fortune away. Not really as much of a concern anymore but always something to watch out for.

His sister is, much to his ongoing shock, a parseltongue like he is. Another oddity to add to the family pile. Great. But why she hasn't told anyone is beyond Harry. He would have to keep an eye out for her when she got to Hogwarts. Lord knows what kind of trouble she'll get them dragged into once she starts school.

But the most surprising, if not disturbing, report he got was the one on his brother. He's been acting weird lately. He talks to himself a lot and he's been writing in a journal. Harry felt a chill go down his back. It couldn't be…Tom's journal. It's not supposed to happen until second year.

Shit. "Dobby if you can get your hands on that journal I want you to copy it without him realizing. Okay?" Dobby stood at attention like he usually does when Harry gives him orders and Tizzy flustered a bit and did the same for some odd reason.

"Tizzy you help Dobby by distracting him and keeping Hokey away from the room. She's bound to the family so she's obligated to tell if one of us is being conspired against. Even if _I'm_ the one who's plotting." Tizzy's salute became sharper and the smile on her face became a few inches wider.

"You two work on that. I'm going to call it a night" He yawned in exhaustion. Today had been a busy day. After sending Dobby and Tizzy off Harry laid down on his bed. A good night's sleep too tempting to pass up.

 **Scene Break**

A few weeks later Lily and Emily saw Harry and Henry off at the Hogwarts express, James was caught up in a Wizengamot session that he couldn't miss, and they were fussing over him like any family would.

It was, in Harry's opinion, wholly degrading and extremely embarrassing. 'I'm twenty six years old for Merlin's sake. I can already hear everybody having a good laugh about Harry Potter 'mummy's little sweetheart'. Ugh. Kill me now.' God forbid the twins see this.

After escaping her death grip he quickly found his way into another, Emily's. She and Harry were quite close to each other, something he made sure of. When Harry got his letter she went to her room and cried for an hour before he went up to calm her down.

It took a very long list of compromises before she would let him leave. Such as writing to her every day and teaching her everything he learned when he came back during the holidays.

It was funny to think about. A tiny pipsqueak like her _allowing_ him to leave for Hogwarts. As she was squeezing the life out of him he started to laugh.

This was a mistake. Funny, but a mistake nonetheless. She stopped squeezing and glared at him with a very familiar look on her face.

" _Harry. James."_ Emily ground his name out. "Are you laughing at me?" 'Oh dear God. She's learned it. She's learned The Look…' He silently pleaded to his mother in hopes of salvation. Lily, rather than helping, just smiled at him. Betrayal splattered across his face as Emily's gaze became harder and colder.

Seeing a bushel of frizzy brown hair whiz past him and onto the train he stopped playing around and became serious. He removed himself from Emily's bone crushing hug and kissed her on the forehead. "We'll be back before you know it, Em. Okay?"

He smiled, gave his mom one last kiss on the cheek and headed towards the train car he saw Hermione get onto. Hopefully she would be his friend this time around. The last time he was at Hogwarts he ignored her and came out worse for it, they both had. She had been bullied and he was alone.

Henry, who was standing nearby receiving the same spine crushing hug Lily gave him, let a look of surprise wash over his face before looking disinterested once more. This look was not missed by Harry. Things had changed between them after he had gotten his hands on the diary. How could they not have?

Running to get on board the train he looked at his family one last time. They smiled and waved at him. He smiled back. 'Nothing will happen to them.' He looked at his brother who was climbing into another car. ' _Any_ of them. Not while I'm here…Well, except maybe James.'

 **Scene Break**

Harry found Hermione alone in a cabin towards the back of the train. It looks like she had been crying. 'Wow. Not even five minutes into the trip and someone already has her in tears. Considering how she had been before it's not really surprising.'

"Hello. Would you mind if I sit here with you?" She looked up and he gave her a friendly smile. She gave him a shy smile back.

The entire trip to Hogwarts consisted of him and Hermione talking about anything and everything both magic and not. Actually it was mostly Hermione talking and Harry listening with avid interest.

'It's no wonder she was always bullied. They stuck someone with such an advanced mental capacity, at least for someone who's eleven, in Gryffindor of all places. The better placement would have been in Ravenclaw, or at the very least Slytherin.

About an hour before the train would get to Hogwarts Harry noticed a look of hesitation on Hermione's face. He smiled on the inside. 'I wonder…'

"You want to tell me what's on your mind?" Her eyes widened in shock. "I've noticed you've been fidgeting in your seat for the last ten minutes with an unsure look on your face" He was met with stunned silence.

"Yes I'm impressive that way. How about that question you may or may not have?" Hermione's face turned an impressive shade of tomato red. "I-I w-was wondering if this m-makes us…friends?"

I smiled at her. How anyone can bring grief upon this girl is beyond me. "Yes, Hermione. We're friends." No sooner had the word 'friends' left his mouth was he met with a delighted, yet very high pitched squeal. "Ow."

And for the third time since waking up this morning Harry found himself in the midst of another back snapping hug. 'Why me?'

Hermione, lost in hugging her first ever real friend, quickly found herself being given a hug back. "I think you and I will make one hell of a team. Don't you think?" However Harry had gotten something different from the expected agreement.

Instead he found himself being lectured on why it's not proper for him to curse. It was a twelve minute lecture and he found himself almost smiling on occasion which didn't go unnoticed by Hermione.

'Note to Self: Don't smile during Hermione's lectures.' Harry sighed. He could already tell that it was nothing more than a pipe dream; for he knew he would always struggle not to smile during her lectures. He could feel it.

He could also feel the bruise on his arm where Hermione gave him a nasty wallop. Other Note to Self: Never laugh out loud when being lectured. Pain is painful.


End file.
